I saw this in India in 1985 and 1986 there then at that time where people would beg on the streets homeless and they would say "Backshish" which means share the wealth I think. I looked it up online and this is what it says:
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backshish (or bakhshish, बख्शिश) primarily means a tip, gratuity, gift, or small donation, often given for services rendered.
Originating from Persian, it is frequently used to describe a voluntary
tip to a waiter or, in a broader context, small alms or money given to a
beggar. It can also imply a bribe or a "sweetener" in certain contexts.
Common Hindi terms for backshish include:
- बख्शिश (Bakhshish): Tip, gift, or present.
- बख़्शिश (Bakhshish): Reward, donation, or gratuity.
- बक्षिस (Bakshis): A term for a gift or gratuity.
- घूस (Ghoos): Bribe (used when the context is illicit).
Key Usage Contexts:
- Service Tip: A small amount of money given for a service performed, similar to a tip.
- Charity/Alms: Money given to a beggar or for charity.
- Reward: A present given to someone, often in a position below the giver.
- Bribe: A payment to influence an official or worker.
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baksheesh meaning in Hindi - Shabdkosh.com
baksheesh
noun. a relatively small amount of money given for services rendered
(as by a waiter) backsheesh, bakshis, bakshish, gra...
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So, the point was if that person could get a cup of rice they wouldn't starve that day. This was basically it right there. However, I also saw thousands of people in families who were lepers too then in India. I was in Bihar state at this time and we were visiting with our Tibetan Lama Friend a sacred cave used by yogis for hundreds of years and this was a special day for this visit. So, as we walked towards this cave leper families gathered on the sides of the road begging then. There were thousands of them begging along the sides of the road.
So, the Tibetan Lama we were traveling wtih bough a bag of about 1000 small candies and literally gave each one of them one candy each men, women and children by putting this candy into their mouths like a holy man would in this kind of situation there in India.
I often wondered at the time what this would be like for starving people to be given a piece of candy in a circumstance like this and wondered how many of them had even eaten anything in the last week or so and what kind of sugar shock or hallucinations they might have with this piece of candy after not eating right maybe ever in their lives?
So, I often saw starvation and death a lot in India with my family in 1985 and 1986. I'm not sure I could deal with or survive any of this now at age 77 though because it was a lot to deal with.
Mostly then it was like being on another planet so America was one planet along with Europe and India was a planet more like what it was 1000 to 2000 years ago then in 1985 and 1986. However, a lot has changed since then because now it is 40 years later.
However, seeing all this death and starvation and maiming I saw there changed me forever and made me realize that America is like Disneyland compared to most of the world where survival is only a promise and often not realized at all where survival is whether you get a cup of rice that day or not every day while you are living on the streets somewhere in India.
The poorest homeless person in the U.S. would be considered rich then in 1985 and 1986 compared to the poor starving people in India then.
However, it prepares me now for what is happening to Americans all over as they cannot afford to buy food for their children on a daily basis.
So, this is one reason why we regularly donate to our local Food bank so less locals here where we live will tend to starve to death especially all the children.
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